


Forgiveness

by wynterinthewings (orphan_account)



Category: Frozen (Disney Movies)
Genre: F/M, Gen, lbr this is just me working through stuff with a frozen veneer
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-01
Updated: 2020-12-05
Packaged: 2021-03-09 19:20:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,737
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27811393
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/wynterinthewings
Summary: Anna and Elsa are trying to leave the past in the past, at the spirits urging. This includes somehow forgiving Hans. They invite him to stay in Arendelle in an attempt to mend the bridge, but forgiveness doesn’t always come easy
Relationships: Anna & Elsa (Disney), Anna/Kristoff (Disney)
Kudos: 12





	1. Arrival

Anna’s feet thumped as she paced her office, throwing Elsa confused looks. Elsa stood, back straight and hands folded in front of her, waiting for Anna to say something. Finally Anna came to rest in front of her. “What about the Duke? Or anyone else, really?”

Elsa released a sigh. “I feel the same way as you do, Anna, but the sprits made themselves very clear. If all is to remain as it should, we have to rid ourselves of hatred. Who else do we hate?”

Anna floundered for a moment, doing her best to find any name she could. She groaned. “Do I have to be the one to write the letter?”

A soft smile graced Elsa’s face. “No, I will write it. However, you do have to sign it. You are the Queen now, remember?”

“He’ll say no, anyway. This is a non-issue.” Anna stomped over to her desk and pulled out her writing materials before offering Elsa the chair. Elsa picked up the quill, dipped it in the ink, and paused. She could feel Anna watching, their utter loathing for the task mingling.

_Dear Prince Hans Westergaard,_

_I hope this letter finds you well. I do hope you do not mind skipped pleasantries. Arendelle is looking to mend relations between our two kingdoms, as we are an important port and you have many exports we depend on. As such, I am requesting you to come on a diplomatic visit so that we may strengthen the alliance that was weakened three years ago._

_Queen Anna of Arendelle_

When Elsa glanced up, Anna’s nose was wrinkled. “It’s too nice for him.”

Elsa sighed and nodded. “I’m aware, but the spirit-“

“Demand we clear our hearts of hate. I listened. I just don’t like it. He tried to kill us, Elsa. And take our kingdom.”

Elsa nodded. She looked back at the letter and watched the ink dry, a foreboding knot forming in her stomach. The spirits may have demanded this, but that didn’t mean she wanted it to happen.

Hans replied quicker than either Anna or Elsa had anticipated.

_Dear Queen Anna or Arendelle,_

_Your letter found me surprised. I do not wish to come to Arendelle and suffer through whatever you have planned for me, but my parents are insisting that I do, and so I will be there within a fortnight._

_Prince Hans Westergaard of the Southern Isles._

Preparations were easy enough to arrange. Hans would be followed by guards. His access to the castle would be restricted more than the usual diplomat. He would never be alone with either Anna or Elsa.

And soon, he was there. Elsa did her best to keep her diplomatic smile on her face as he approached. She heard the footsteps coming down the corridor, and couldn’t stop the memories. Anna, a solid block of ice. Anna, pleading with her to come back to Arendelle, to fix her mess. Anna, getting hurt again, and again, and again.

The doors to the receiving room opened and his eyes went wide. He slowed his step before giving his head a slight shake and smiling. The King and Queen of the Southern Isles followed after him.

Anna took charge of the greetings. “King Hector, Queen Iris, Prince Hans, welcome. You know my sister, Princess Elsa, and my fiancé, Kristoff Bjorgman.”

“Yes, we do hope you are all well.” King Hector said. “It seems the transfer of Queenship went smoothly.”

“It did. Thank you for your concern.” Anna glanced around the room quickly. “Shall we sit?”

King Hector nodded. “That would be most agreeable.”

Elsa kept her eyes on Hans as the conversation progressed. He seemed stiff, his back ramrod straight. He kept glancing between his father and the floor. King Hector was in the middle of a long tangent about what the Southern Isles could provide Arendelle, but Elsa wasn’t really listening.

It didn’t make sense, especially since it had been her idea to invite him here in the first place, but she knew Hans had something up his sleeve. He had to have been planning something. After all, the invitation had been for him alone, and yet his parents had arrived, surprising everyone and sending the serving staff into a flurry to prepare the accommodations.

Queen Iris was speaking now, her voice catching in Elsa’s ear. “Yes, my husband and I are on our way to Corona, to discuss a trade deal with their new Queen. We will only be staying a week, but Hans is prepared to stay and work through all of the necessities.”

The muscles in his jaw bounced and he tightened his hands into fists. He didn’t raise his eyes from the floor. Was he unhappy with this arrangement? Elsa had to bite her lip to stop from laughing. It would seem no one was getting what they wanted out of this arrangement.

The week with the King and Queen passed quickly. Hans rarely left his quarters while they were still within the castle. Breakfast the day after their departure was a different matter. Hans all but stormed into the dining room, eyes blazing.

“What are you playing at?” He wasn’t shouting, but the emotion in his voice was loud. “If you plan to kill me, just get it over with. I will not be toyed with.”

Kristoff and Anna froze, forks halfway between their plates and their mouths. Guards had swords at the ready. Elsa lowered the cup she had been holding. “No one is trying to kill you, Hans. We truly want to better our relationship, as our letter said.”

Hans swallowed. His eyes roamed the guards and he closed his eyes. “It wouldn’t matter anyway. My death would be overlooked in favor of this deal you have in motion with my father.” He roughly pulled out a chair and sat at the table, keeping his head down and eating his food.

Elsa raised her eyebrows and looked over to Anna and Kristoff, who looked as shocked as she felt. But before she could feel any real pity for him, their eyes met across the table, and she was back on the frozen fjord. Hans was telling her Anna had died at her hand.

Her glass shattered. Everyone jumped to attention as glass and ice fell to the floor.

Anna was half out of her seat. “Elsa? Are you okay?”

She plastered on a smile, even though she knew Anna saw through it. “I’m fine.” 


	2. Fault

Elsa gripped the balcony railing tighter than necessary. Breakfast had been an utter disaster. Just seeing Hans made her angry. The cold air and the snow floating down calmed her as she took deep breaths.

How long had it been since she had lost control like that? Since her powers reacted so strongly to her emotions? How was she ever going to forgive him if she reacted this strongly to him? She ran a hand through her hair. It doesn’t take long for Anna to find her.

“Elsa.” Anna comes to rest beside Elsa, looking up at her face. Elsa turns to her and feels tears starting to burn her eyes. She blinks them away and takes a deep breath. “What’s wrong?”

A snowflake falls between them, hitting Anna’s warm cloak and melting. “This was a mistake.”

Anna grabs her hand. “I don’t think so. It would be good for us to have some closure.” There was a worried wrinkle on Anna’s brow, and Elsa knew her sister was thinking less of herself and more of Elsa.

Elsa did her best to be around Hans, to forgive him as she had planned, but every time she saw his ginger hair or his emerald eyes, she was filled with a loathing she had never known. One week, two weeks, a month later, and Anna and Kristoff were laughing with Hans during game night. Elsa was trying her best. It was easy when he wasn’t speaking, or moving,and if she didn’t look at him. Then it was like he wasn’t there.

She did her best to remain civil, but sometimes her magic - her emotions - got the best of her. She had once accidentally frozen his shoes to the ground.

It was after a game night, when Elsa had retreated early to the balcony, that she felt Anna’s warmth. Her sister mirrored her stance, leaning on the railing and looking out over the kingdom. “Why are you hiding in here?”

Elsa glanced back into the room, where Kristoff and Hans were having a friendly arm wrestling match that Hans was sure to lose. “How did you forgive him so fast?”

Anna looked back, too, watching as Kristoff did a victory dance. “It wasn’t easy, Elsa.” Her gaze returned to the kingdom. “He was going to kill you.”

“And you,” Elsa added.

Anna shook her head. “No. He wouldn’t have killed me. Kristoff and I talked a lot about this since Hans arrived, and we’ve both came around to the same thought.” She turned her eyes to Elsa, who met her gaze. “If Hans had kissed me, it wouldn’t have mattered. The fire didn’t matter. It could have been the middle of summer in a volcano. He didn’t love me, so he would never have been able to save me.”

Elsa looked back out over Arendelle, gripping the banister, unknowingly covering it in frost. “So that was it?”

“No, I was never very angry about that. He drew a sword on you, Elsa. He was going to really kill you. And...” Anna’s voice dropped. She pried Elsa’s hand from the frozen banister and held it. “That was unforgivable. It took me a long time to work through that.”

Elsa pulled her hand away from Anna, holding it close to her chest. The words begged to spill from her mouth. Secrets, they had already learned, were dangerous. Holding her feeling in was dangerous. But every time she opened her mouth to tell Anna, nothing came out. No matter how hard the words were pressing on her lips, she she tried to set them free, they ran back, unwilling to take those scary first steps.

“I’m going for a walk,” she said. “I need to think.”

She hadn’t made it halfway down the hall before she heard footsteps behind her. “Anna, please, I don’t want company right now.”

“I’m not Anna.”

Elsa felt herself instantly stiffen. “All the same, I would like to be alone.” She refused to turn, so he walked into her line of sight. “Hans, leave me be.”

“Please, Elsa. I would just like five minutes of your time.” Her eyes flicked to his face, the sincere expression, before looking over his shoulder. She had to maintain control.

“Fine,” she said. She brushed passed him. “Walk with me.”

Hans kept in step with her, silent until the made it to the castle garden. She turned and began looking at the winter flowers. Breathing in the cold air calmed her nerves, as did the flowers sweet smell.

She could hear Hans shift, waiting for her attention. When he realized she wasn’t going to look at him, he sighed. “Your Highness, please.” She steeled herself and then looked over to him. She had requested he come, the least she could do was give him a few minutes. Their eyes connected for a brief second, but she forced herself to focus.

Hans took a step closer to her. “Three years is a long time. I have had ample time to think about what occurred the last time I was in your lovely kingdom. I have had time to reflect on myself.” He cleared his throat and rubbed the back of his neck. “Nothing I could ever say or do can fix the ways I wronged you, but I wanted to let you know I regret my actions. I am sorry.”

She looked over at him, felt the pull the words had. Sorry. He was sorry. Anna trusted him enough to dismiss the guards. Kristoff was building a friendship.

And Elsa was still in the same place as the day the letter had been sent.

Her eyes lost focus. She was in the Ice Palace, begging Anna to leave. She wouldn’t. Of course not, Anna was persistent. Everything was going wrong, and of course it was. Elsa wasn’t made to do anything right, from the moment she was born. Why couldn’t Anna see that everything would be better without her? Why couldn’t Anna see that she was dangerous? She had nearly killed her sister all those years ago, and now she was doing the same to her kingdom.

Elsaheard someone call Anna’s name and turned. She knew, just by looking at Anna, what had happened. But Anna seemed okay, maybe her heart wasn’t struck by the ice. Maybe it had missed her?

But of course it hadn’t. Hans was yelling over the wind on the frozen fjord, telling her how Anna’s hair was pure white, how Anna was covered in her ice, how it had all been her fault.

Then Hans was in front of her again, but different. She almost couldn’t believe it was the same pair of eyes she had looked into all those years ago. They were both on their knees in the snow, Elsa taking in shaky breaths. “Elsa, are you okay? I called for the guards.”

With a now steady breath, she shook her head. “I don’t need the guards. It’s okay.”

Hans stood and offered her a hand, which she accepted. “What happened? Are you ill?”

Elsa shook her head. “No. I accept your apology, Hans. It wasn’t you I was truly angry with.”

He lifted an eyebrow in confusion. “Oh?”

“I should be apologizing to you. I had Anna ask you here to settle things, but every time I looked at you, I was taken back to that day. Reminded of my actions. I hadn’t realized the blame I still carried for myself.”

“I see,” Hans said. “I believe Anna has forgiven you. You have both forgive me.” He placed a hand on her shoulder and offered her a smile. “Perhaps it’s time to let go of it all. Forgive yourself, Elsa. You deserve it.”

They didn’t speak for the rest of the walk back into the castle

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This started out as a Helsa fic, but it changed through the writing. I hope you aren’t too disappointed. Please let me know your thoughts.


	3. Acceptance

Two weeks later, Elsa found herself at the docks with Kristoff and Anna, saying goodbye to Hans. His parents had finished their trade deal in Corona, and now they were setting off to return to the Southern Isles.

When it became her turn to say goodbye, Elsa stepped away from the group, leaving Anna and Kristoff to speak with Hector and Iris. Hans glanced over to the group and then back to Elsa, his eyebrows raised.

“I wanted to thank you, again, for not bringing up what happened on our walk to Anna.”

He smiled at her. “It isn’t my place. Besides,” he said, putting a hand on her shoulder, “That is something personal. I am no longer one to meddle.”

They stood silent for a moment. Elsa found herself drawn to his face. To his eyes. She had avoided them for so long, but for the past two weeks, they were what she had sought out.

“I am truly sorry to see you go.” She swallowed. “Perhaps you could visit again soon.”

He laughed. “Yes, I suppose I could. Then you could show me your forest. And you could visit the Southern Isles. Neither of us are reigning anymore, we have some spare time.”

“That...would be nice. I may do so.”

Then it was time to board the boat. Elsa held out a hand to Hans, who raised it to his mouth and kissed it. “Goodbye, Princess.” She tried to ignore the fluttering in her stomach.

Elsa rejoined Kristoff and Anna, watching as they boarded their ship. It was a strange feeling, to have wished him gone for so long, only to now be saddened when he left.

Anna looped her arm through Elsa’s, resting her head on Elsa’s shoulder. “This was a good idea, Elsa. It was a good thing.”

Elsa nodded. She could only just see Hans’ ginger hair, bright in the sunlight.

“Yes,” she agreed. “It was.” Then she cleared her throat. “Now, let’s go get lunch.”

With a nod, Elsa, Kristoff, and Anna set off back to the castle. Elsa couldn’t stop herself from looking back and hoping to see Hans a few times.

**Author's Note:**

> It is a bit rough, I know. I promise to do better here on out. I rewrote this five times trying to get it right, but this set-up was hard.


End file.
